Flyin' Hawaiian

Quarter-mile fun, and lower ETs, in this 1970 Pontiac Grand Prix

Feature Article from Hemmings Muscle Machines

Drag strip regulars have seen it all at the track. They can tell you about the guy who won his bracket final in a pickup or the dude who modified his old four-door family sedan and went on to win the final round. Snowmobiles, motorcycles, minivans and even the most sedate-looking of imports can all be transformed into masters of the quarter-mile, at least within their appropriate class. Such observations have led many aspiring racers to the conclusion that you don't have to own a gutted, fiberglass-bodied, hood-scooped, race-dedicated ride to have fun. Just ask Adams, Massachusetts, resident Kyle Lawson.
Unlike some other racers, Kyle doesn't have decades of experience at the strip; he's been tripping the lights for just four years. And while he's owned a vast array of vehicles, his current track steed--a 1970 Pontiac Grand Prix--is one more closely associated with luxury than racing. "I've owned a 1971 Pontiac Le Mans, a 1968 Olds W-30 4-4-2 and a 1979 Pontiac Firebird powered by a '73 GTO 400-cu.in. engine--racing with any one of those would have made more sense," laughs Kyle. So why the Grand Prix?
"I purchased it about five or six years ago, discovering after I obtained it that the car had been prepped, shipped and sold through a dealership in Hawaii. When I'd made it presentable, I took it to Lebanon Valley (Dragway in West Lebanon, New York) for Musclepalooza VI, where my brother-in-law, Joe Dean, told me I should give it a shot on the track--he said that I might enjoy it," Kyle explains. At that point, the Pontiac was still in bone-stock configuration, including its 400-cu.in. engine, TH400 transmission and a rear gear that was somewhere in the twos. "I brought it to the line and did a 100-yard, one-leg burnout and managed to run a 16.1, but I was hooked."
That single pass sparked an obsession that most drag racers experience--the need for a quicker ET. With some input from Dean, Kyle made some mechanical refinements to the original engine, as well as employing some other racing tricks, which resulted in best passes of 15.3 and eventually 14.6 seconds. As Dean said during our recent interview, "Every time Kyle spent X-number of dollars, he'd knock a tenth off the time."
Yet in spite of his steady progress, Kyle sprang for a change that was sure to put a dent in the time slips he was receiving.
"Two years ago, I purchased a Pontiac 428; it's an 11.2-compression engine that runs on pump gas, but at the track, I mix in some racing fuel--it loves the stuff. We also changed the gears to a 3.55:1 ratio. Right away, I was able to knock it down to a 13.5-second run. Which is sort of amazing when you stop to think that the Grand Prix still has the factory air conditioning installed, and power steering," says Kyle of the improvements.
Further steps were taken, though they came with a price. "We also installed a shift kit, an Eaton Posi for better traction and a torque converter with 2,500-RPM stall. That's all great for the track, but since the car is still legally registered for street use, I just race it at Lebanon Valley because it uses more gas now. I used to be able to take it anywhere; now if I behave, I can squeak 11 miles to the gallon--it turns 3,000 RPM at 65 MPH, so I really don't want to take it far."
During the recent off-season, Kyle admitted that an X-pipe exhaust system was installed under the impression that it would enhance the Pontiac's performance just a bit more. "Well, that didn't work. When we got it back to the track, she ran a 13.8--it went in the wrong direction! Over the weekend, I was able to push it down to my 13.7 breakout, but on the last run of the day, I snuck in a 13.69 and lost the round. That pipe is coming out before my next trip to the drag strip."
Plans for the Hawaiian Pontiac are not limited to the exhaust. Although the interior was replaced, Kyle told us that the paint--not original to the car--is beginning to show its age. As for the racing, "Really, it's just a lot of fun. You meet a lot of great people and can learn simple things that can help you at the lights. We've done a lot of things to this car, but if anything, it's just further proof that you don't have to have a 10-second car to have fun at the track."

This article originally appeared in the September, 2011 issue of Hemmings Muscle Machines.